Individual, Men

Since the 2002 Winter Olympics, Germany’s Ronny Ackermann had won six medals at the World Championships, including the individual title in 2003 and 2005, and won three titles at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival. At Salt Lake City, he had won a silver medal in the sprint and the team event. But disaster struck on his first jump in Torino, landing at only 92.5 metres, 10½ less than Norway’s leader Petter Tande, and Ackermann stood 25.5 points behind. His second jump was little better, and he finished the jumping tied for 26th, 49 points, and 3:16 behind his teammate, Georg Hettich. Tande, the 2005 World Junior Champion, was in second after the second jump, starting two seconds behind Hettich in the 15 km. The other favorite was thought to be Finland’s Hannu Manninen, who had only medaled at the World Championships in the team event, but was the World Cup champion in 2003-04, 2004-05, and was leading in the current season. He placed eighth on the hill, and was 1:38 back starting the 15 km.

In the ski race, Hettich maintained his lead throughout, winning by 9.8 seconds over Austrian Felix Gottwald, who had placed 11th in the jumping, but was second in the skiing. Tande struggled in the cross-country, finishing only 22nd in that section, and dropping out of the medals, finishing fourth, passed by Austrian Felix Gottwald. He was passed by his teammate, Magnus Moan, who had been ninth in the jumping, but had the third-best ski time, which brought him onto the podium. Moan would place second in the World Cup in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Ackermann had a horrible event, placing 15th in skiing, and 18th overall, but he would again win the World Championships in 2007 and the World Cup in 2007-08. The other favorite, Manninen, finished only 14th in the 15 km, and dropped down to ninth place, even out of the diplomas.